Quello Fortunato
by cozyouknow
Summary: Tokyo, for all its 100 years of splendor, had remained to be the most advanced of all the cities in the continent of Nippon. Name any scientific breakthrough and one can find it here. Except for one thing.


**QUELLO FORTUNATO**

**Chapter 1**

* * *

The sweet air of Tokyo was filled with the tangy overwhelming scent of festivals and celebrations. The city was nearing its hundredth anniversary and its citizens wasted no time in preparing for the big event happening on the first full moon of the 23rd month. Prior to the preparations, the mayor announced that in line with the city's foundation celebration, another gigantic unveiling will also proceed that day. And the people asked for no more reasons to make haste for they themselves were eagerly anticipating what the mayor's surprise' is.

Tokyo, for all its 100 years of splendor, had remained to be the most advanced of all the cities in the continent of Nippon. There was a physical borderline on the west of the metro, separating the entire city from the topography of the main continent. The borderline was in the form of a wall, long enough to cover the whole length of the city and tall enough to hide it from any outsider's line of sight. Anyone would be foolish enough to try crossing this line.

For this matter, the rulers of Nippon: the Royal Family had declared the area a blind zone. The main continent's laws were useless against Tokyo's autonomy. Even the King did not darepenetrate the city's fortress. As far as He was concerned, He'd not do anything reckless to anger even the citizens of Tokyo. His Highness would never go personally to this city if He could avoid it. Instead, He'd just send delegates to pass His message across.

The city lived in undisturbed prosperity and bliss with only the littlest amount of contact from the other places. It was like a country of its own. Why the King was afraid of Tokyo, no one knew. Nobody even dared to ask. This fact just heightened the enigma and mystery surrounding the walled metropolis.

The metropolis was currently ruled and governed by the peace-loving Hokage, Tsunade-sama. She was one of the main founders of Tokyo and had been its mayor since day one. She was already there when the city was still pure gravel and rocks. Her exact age was a trivial fact for everyone. Because as far as good government was concerned, no one could complain on Tsunade-sama's 'unequaled and unparalleled humanist ways'.

Meanwhile, Tokyo, being the most advanced in all sciences, had EEE as its main developing systems company. This EEE gave innovative a new meaning. Name any scientific breakthrough and expect to find it here. What Nippon's best scientists and inventors could not create, EEE's workers could, in just a snap of their fingers. Every year, the company picks one good inventor from the main continent and gives him a chance to take part in Tokyo's technological world. The chosen inventor is aptly called "quello fortunato" or The Fortunato. For a year, EEE observes if The Fortunato has what it takes to become one of them. And out of the 100 Fortunatos the main continent had ever produced; only 10 had been really fortunate enough to be a member of the EEE. This way, only the best of all the best scientists will be allowed to work here.

People say that being chosen as a Fortunato is already an honor in itself. But what happened to the 90 Fortunatos who hadn't been chosen? They neither stay in Tokyo nor go back to the main continent. Only the Heavenly Being, the deity of all things, knows what had become of them. Because for the Heavenly Being, Tokyo is the new Paradise. The heaven on earth.

* * *

It was another morning in the city of Tokyo. During these days of the month, the days would always seem longer than the nights. As for the festival preparations, the citizens still had 2 weeks before the foundation day but no one dared waste even a single second. The people worked like automated robots focused on a single task or goal. Nothing could stall their progress.

In the very heart of the city, there stood the EEE with its 50-floored magnificence. Its walls were made of pure metal, the surfaces gleaming in the sun. The architecture was designed in an intricate manner similar to that of a fortress. It was like a huge watchtower guiding the whole of Tokyo. The epitome of avant-garde. But the magnificence didn't stop there. Once you enter EEE, you have to give yourself a full 10 minutes or so just to gape at the vastness and indescribable beauty of the interior. Even words fail.

And so, this particular morning, a grand preparation was happening inside the EEE. The company was temporarily closed. EEE's staff were preparing for a grand unveiling of its latest breakthrough. A huge party was about to kick off that night and no less than the richest and only the most influential people could attend.

Hon. Haruno Ryuta, CEO of the said company, was in-charge of the whole event. He already announced some few days ago that he would be unveiling something huge. No one had the slightest idea as to what this was; even the media men couldn't dig it. Thus this only increased the amount of anticipation and excitement everyone felt.

48 floors up the building and one could find Mr. Haruno's study room which was almost always empty except for some days where he needed to work on his files. This was one of those days that he was not in his science lab downstairs. Entering the room, one could see only few furniture and appliances. A glass table was on the middle and there was a rotating chair behind it. At the far left end of the room was a large glass shelf filled with folders and files, mundane at the very least. Mr. Haruno keeps his important papers on a vault underground which only he could access.

The CEO was a tall and lean man, looking like he was just on his mid-thirties when he was really on his fifties already. His clean, managed hair was always smooth and on its place at the top of his head. His face was stern and stoic, filled with the lines of hinted mystery and long years. Above his left cheek was a long scar from a lost battle some years ago. He was always dressed in suits and polos and carried around him an aura of authority and arrogance. He was so tall in standing that he looked like he was overpowering some small, insignificant creature. Nevertheless, he wasn't cruel or harsh in any way.

He had experienced love once in his life when his wife was still alive. People said that he was gentler-looking then. But his wife succumbed to an incurable disease and she left him nothing but a daughter who looked exactly like her. It was a form of mockery to Mr. Haruno. Despite this, he still chose to treasure his wife's memory. He became a slave of the science then, devoting the rest of his life to it. He promised himself that he would someday cure all the people's ills so that they would not bear the same pain he had gone through. He founded EEE out of nothing and made it the foundation of technology not only in Tokyo but in the whole continent as well. He was successful in his life, contented at the very least. And no one could remember anymore how he used to be a distressed young man, heartbroken over his wife's death.

That morning, he was working on the legal proceedings and payments of the previous month's projects when a knock came at his door. The one who entered was Ms. Haruno Sakura, the CEO's lovely daughter. She was the exact copy of her late mother and had inherited the exact same beauty and grace. She was the finest lady in both rank and features. What was just disappointing was that she decided not to follow her father's footsteps. She had no interest in science and Mr. Haruno could not force her to do anything that she didn't bid. He tried to convince her to take over the company when he dies but she always vehemently refuses. She had her eye on other things and was not the kind of person to sit behind a table and look at a microscope all day. No, she was more than that! She had an independent and free-spirited will of her own, something that her father secretly and greatly admired,

"Sakura!" The CEO exclaimed, clearly he wasn't expecting her. "What brought you here?"

"Father." Sakura sweetly called. She smiled her brightest smile. "Can I ask you a favor?"

"If only I can manage, sweetheart." He brought his papers down and peered suspiciously at her daughter. Her daughter just gave her an innocent smile.

"Can I go to Room 56?"

There was no hesitation. "No."

"But why?" Sakura wailed. Her smooth forehead was now in crease. But her father's decision did not falter.

"You know very well that that room is restricted," He saw her daughter's eyebrows shot up. "Yes, even you. That room, under my strict orders, is not to be opened until tonight, during the grand unveiling."

Sakura sighed. But since she already made up her mind, she refused to give up. "Please father?" She asked once more. "I promise not to touch anything. I just wanted to see _them_! I'm sure that after tonight, I won't be having a good chance anymore! Please? I'll be your assistant in the lab for a week if you let me see them!"

There was a brief silence as her father thought about the condition. Alas, he wouldn't win against his daughter. He sighed deeply. He could never resist her. "When did you become so interested in my projects?"

Thinking this as a sign of agreement, Sakura broke into a wide smile. "Since now. Thanks dad!" And with just a wave, she was out of the room in an instant.

* * *

"Room 56, room 56…" The lady muttered to herself as she walked down an endless stretch of corridor, her heels clacking against the floor. When she had finally found the room, she quickly did the necessary optical security protocols to open the room.

It was an ordinary one, much like the rest, only bigger. Linoleum floors and bare walls. But leaning on the walls were a dozen of large contraptions attached to a main system. These contraptions, when looked at closely, contained something in them. Sakura, anxious and excited, approached the containers one-by-one. She ran her hands through its glass doors, carefully examining them. She was right, they look like humans. Only they were robots.

Tokyo never had a robot in its cluster of technological inventions. It was the one thing that the Royal Family did not allow. So, even though the city's scientists could easily create one, they were told not to. For a hundred years, the citizens were forced to use only manual labor and machineries for their work.

After a century's worth of wait, here in Sakura's midst were a dozen robots, all fitted according to a human's exact form and features. She couldn't believe her eyes. The Royal Family had already allowed the use of these 'fake humans'. And the big question for her was why. Why did the King, after a whole century of banning it, finally allowed the existence of robots? Actually, she didn't care about any of this. What piqued her attention more was the sudden change of rules in the game. Was there a hidden motive here?

Sakura approached the last robot, the one at the left end. She peered through the glass door and saw that the robot was a male. A very beautiful one at that. She was mesmerized by the perfect beauty of it that she felt conscious of her own appearance. Sakura continued to look at the robot's face which was almost an angel's. Almost hypnotizing.

"I wonder if you could feel me here." She muttered, hoping on dumb thoughts that the robot would suddenly spring to life and talk to her. On a sudden burst of idea, she thought of what might happen if the robot went alive now. What she could do to wake it up. She could just deactivate him after she had already talked to him. Being the stubborn that she was, she searched around the large container to see if there was any kind of device or clutch that could open it.

Alas, at the far left of the container, almost to the bottom, there located a keypad with the standard numbers, almost like a phone. Guinevere figured that she needed some password of sorts before she could open the container. Now, the problem was the password itself.

She squinted and peered at the numbers. It was going to be difficult trying to guess what the password might be. She tried her father's birthday or hers. None worked. She put on the date today, even the EEE's number address. Still, nothing happened. The keypad just kept on switching off by itself when the wrong password is entered. She tried every scientific combination she could think of, the first 10 numbers of the Fibonacci sequence and even the value of pi. She was feeling queasier as the moments passed by. She peered at her watch which showed the time in a hologram. An hour had already passed.

As a last resort, she keyed in her mother's birthday. The mother she didn't' meet and never even had the chance to because she died earlier in her life: 2 months after she was born.

She tried to remember the exact date. Her fingers were nervously pressing the numbers. After she had entered the password, the screen went blank for a moment. She almost lost all hope when surprise of all surprise, it was the correct one. She nearly fainted in relief. _Thank you, mother._

The container opened slowly; a whiff of air from inside blew past Sakura's face. She looked closely at the robot inside and her amazement heightened. At this proximity, the robot looked more human than her. His skin was the perfect shade of cream, his lashes curved to the very angle. He looked…real. Almost human. Amazingly real. Terribly real.

At this point, she already knew what to do next because she had spied on her father once. She carefully turned the robot around, careful not to bear all its weight. At his nape was an opening, only slightly camouflaged with his skin. Sakura opened it using her long nails with the same caution as before. It was hollow inside except for a small hole. Attached to the wall of the container was an hourglass-shaped bottle containing some thick gray liquid. She reached out for it and quickly inserted it inside the hole in the robot's nape.

In an instant, like a puppet controlled by his master, the robot sprung to life. It opened his eyes, the color of ebony. He looked around briskly, almost like his joints were all attached to a loose string. He flexed his fingers and his neck bones. All the time, Sakura looked at the robot with utmost incredulity and a little embarrassment. She only realized now that the robot was completely naked. She blushed at the thought. Though he was a robot, he still looked human. She just tried to keep her eyes on the robot's face. It seemed like an artificial God created a new life. It was almost creepy to see someone act like a human when he was not actually one. She felt a little scared and intimidated by the robot. For a moment, she felt deactivating the robot then and there.

Sakura visibly jumped when the robot suddenly turned to look at her. His eyes were fierce, like a hawk hunting its prey. He scanned her from head to toe. She felt a little conscious. There was a full-naked humanlike robot in front of her, looking at her entire body like it was some kind of food. Alas, the robot turned away and resumed to flexing his muscles.

When Sakura had finally recovered from the initial shock, she tried to speak to the robot though her voice was shaking. She introduced herself. "Hello. I am Haruno Sakura, the daughter of the one who created you. What's your name?" She asked hesitatingly.

At the sound of her voice, the robot looked at her again which made her cringe in turn. He just continued to eye her sternly until he replied. "I know. I was programmed to obey you and your father, our creator, Mr. Haruno Ryuta."

Sakura seemed surprised at the recognition. It took a while before she recomposed herself. "So, this means that you have orders to obey me, am I right?"

There was a brief pause before the robot nodded.

"So…" Sakura chose her words carefully. "I'm ordering you to speak up and tell me your name."

"My name?"

"Yes, your name." She enunciated the words.

"It's 23-012. Serial number is 00982529-8273. Are you satisfied, madam?"

Sakura snorted. How could she remember such a long and boring name? What was that, a bar code? Then, she suddenly thought of something.

"I don't like your name. Since I have the authority now, I will be replacing it with a better one." The robot raised his left eyebrow which made Sakura smiled, despite herself.

"From now on, I'll call you Sasuke. Your name will be Sasuke, you'll only obey when you're called Sasuke and you will never complain. And I'm the only one who can call you that, Understood?"

It took a while before the robot, Sasuke, answered. "Sasuke." He repeated the name slowly, getting the feel of it. The lady nodded happily.

"I like it." Sasuke answered and smiled the most beautiful smile Sakura had ever seen.


End file.
